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Japan
Organized Panel Session
While preparing for an exhibition on women photographers working during the years 1920-1955, I have been contending with a lack of information on female Japanese photographers. As I attempt to build a narrative engaged with the relationships and contributions of women photographers from around the world, I approach rewriting the history of photography into one that brings to light in a meaningful way the production and experiences of overlooked or marginalized women photographers, knowing that I need to be careful not to continue a history that genders their practice.
My paper will examine the challenges of such an endeavor by comparing the experiences and practices of two professional photographers, Tsuneko Sasamoto and Eiko Yamazawa, to the artistic practices of Michiko Yamawaki and members of the Ladies Camera Club organized by the well-known male photographer Yasuzo Nojima. I will explore the issue of limitations, that is, how to balance the real limitations these women faced on their path to becoming professional photographers and artists and the problems involved with evaluating work that has disappeared from the historical record or been deemed limited or not fully formulated. With ambition, drive, and desire, these women set out to engage with photography, yet they were set apart and othered by a number of institutions. While women were experiencing a growing liberation from traditional gender roles and opportunities for women in the field of photography were rapidly growing, this new understanding of female identity affected the daily lives of women very differently from place to place.
Andrea Nelson
National Gallery of Art, Washington